Laurels & lances: Winning, gloating and writing

Laurel: To beautiful representation. Maybe Victoria Piekut isn’t Miss USA. She is still making her community proud.

The Irwin woman and reigning Miss Pennsylvania USA competed for the crown in Memphis this week. She didn’t win. But she did show up, participate, represent her state and her home and do so with pride and with grace.

“This really was my goal, to compete in Miss USA, and I achieved that dream,” Piekut said. “There’s a saying out there that you’re more likely to have a son compete in the Super Bowl than to have a daughter compete for Miss USA. So I’m perfectly happy.”

Would she be happier if she had won? Maybe. Would she have celebrated with as much grace and the same statements about gaining friends in all 50 states? It seems likely.

It would be nice if politics could end as politely as a pageant.

Lance: To social media sniping. Can we all just agree that the world was a better place when politicians didn’t have access to a wide-open, highly visible internet playground to taunt each other? For every good, positive message that they can share, it seems like they take the opportunity to go for the zinger.

Most recently, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman did so when he took to Twitter Tuesday night to goad Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had offered $1 million in rewards for information on voter fraud.

“Hey, Governor Patrick — it’s your counterpart in Pennsylvania,” tweeted Fetterman, a Democrat. “I’d like to collect your handsome reward for reporting voter fraud. I got a dude in Forty Fort, PA who tried to have his dead mom vote for Trump. I’d like mine in Sheetz gift cards pls. ps The Cowboys blow.” Patrick responded the next day, somewhat spuriously (complaining of “PA Dems … counting ballots behind closed doors) but earnestly with “Stop the snide putdowns.” Fetterman did not comply, calling him “My dude” in his reply on Thursday.

OK, we get it. Fetterman is a serious politician whose brand is being unorthodox and casual. He comes by it authentically. But it’s not always necessary to go for the funny, public score and “win the internet” with trolling. Fetterman’s national media profile has risen in the election’s aftermath, with witty quips on TV and forceful defense of election laws. Twitter putdowns provide instant gratification, but are a lower form of discourse.

Laurel: To making things count. North Allegheny High School juniors Alina Zaidi and Angela Wu have a message about keeping track of your pennies. They put it in writing with the book “Growing Your Money Tree: An Introduction to Personal Finance.”

It’s impressive for any high school student to write a book. It’s all the more so for it to be about such an important topic. Kids need to be focused on their financial bottom line. So do adults.

Hey, maybe the pair could drop a few copies off in Harrisburg and Washington, for that matter.